“For what?”
I turn toward her and give a smile I don’t feel. “We need to go to Souls. We’re gonna need to stay there until this is over.”
Her brows dip as she thinks this through. “What are you saying?”
I blow out a breath and release her hand. “We need protection I can’t provide on my own. The club is the only safe place. I need you to pack a bag and you’ll need to stay with me at Souls. You can’t go to work, you can’t go to the store, you can’t go anywhere. I’ll need to talk to the club tonight because tomorrow at eight in the morning when I’m not waiting for agent fuckwad, shit is going to get bad. I need help and my club will help.”
“Your club that will want to kill you for getting involved with a federal agent, will want to help you?” she asks, tilting her head.
I run my fingers through my hair and look up at the ceiling. “Oh, they’re gonna be pissed. They are going to want to fucking kill me. But they’ll help. It’s how we do shit.”
She rubs her forehead and sighs. “What if I don’t want to hide in Souls? What if I take my chances?”
I shake my head as I stand up. “Then you’ll die, Gillian. This isn’t me asking you to come. This is me telling you to pack a bag because you are fucking going. I need to call Brooks and tell him we need to meet and once I do we won’t have much time. I’ll help you pack if you want, but I need you to do it now.”
She stands up and walks down the hallway, slamming a door closed. Awesome, just what I fucking need. I understand she’s upset and scared, but this is the only option we have. Being pissed at me isn’t going to help. I already know I fucked up, I don’t need her anger as a reminder.
I light a cigarette and stare at my phone. “Fuck,” I whisper, pressing Brooks’ number.
“This better be good,” he answers.
“I need everyone around the table tonight,” I say.
He laughs and I hear a door close. “A little last minute, Riley. Let’s do it first thing in the morning.”
“It can’t wait, Brooks,” I rush out.
He’s quiet for a minute before asking, “Life or death?”
“Yeah,” I say, closing my eyes.
“I’ll put out the call. Be there in a half hour.”
He hangs up and I finish my smoke. After I’m done, I go down the hall and stand outside Gillian’s bedroom. I hang my head as I knock on the door.
“I’m almost ready,” she says through the door.
“We gotta go in a couple minutes,” I say.
She swings open the door and stares at me. “I had a normal life. I was having fun, partying, sleeping around. My biggest worry was finding a job that I liked. I laughed all the time. I had friends and family.” She shoves her finger into my chest and I stare down at h
er. “Until you! I’m twenty-two years old! I’m not ready to die or hide or run for my life. I no longer have choices. I no longer have options. I need to follow your fucking rules and for what? The possibility that I might make it out alive. You ruined me!” She begins to cry again and I pull her to me. “You ruined me!” I hold her closer and she cries harder. “You ruined me,” she whispers.
“I know, baby girl. I ruined you as you repaired me.”
I never intentionally wanted to ruin her, but I did. I took away her innocence. She’ll never be the same and that’s on me. It’s all on me.
She pulls away from me and turns to grab her bag on the floor. “Let’s go.”
She follows me to Souls and when we pull up, I meet her at her car. I take her bag from her and kiss the top of her head. I don’t say anything but before we reach the door, she grabs my hand. She’s scared, so I give her hand a little squeeze and smile at her. “They all love you, baby girl.”
“What do I say when they ask me what’s going on? Who can I talk to? Where will I sleep?” she rushes out.
I stop walking and drop her bag, grabbing both her hands in mine. “You can talk to anyone who is involved with the club. You can tell them everything, there are no secrets here. You can ask Harper for advice; she’s been in this world her entire life. You can talk to Ivy about what it’s like coming into the club and having no idea how it all works. She did the same thing. You can talk to Nora and Adalyn about all the loss they’ve endured and survived. You can talk to them all about me. There are no limits here, we share everything. And you can have your own room if you like or you can share with me. I will leave that entirely up to you.”
She looks around trying to keep tears from spilling. “Tonight, I’d like to stay with you.”
I grin and wrap my arm around her shoulder, kissing her temple. “Then you will.”